My name is Ann, and I am a single mom. I adopted two beautiful sisters in the late fall of 2011. I am hoping to journal my journey as a mom and share my ups and downs...most of all, my heart. I hope that we can encourage each other through this journey.

The Romagnolo Family

Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Road To My First Half Marathon Part 2

I am now 42 days away from the Plano Balloon Festival Half
Marathon! Yesterday I ran over 12 miles
for the first time.

All of this training
is making a big difference. When I got
to mile 10 during my last long run, my feet were killing me. This time I focused on gliding and not
pounding my feet. I could’ve probably
made it the whole 13.1 miles, but I decided not to push it. Not too long into mile one, I realized that I
had forgotten to bring my salt capsules.
Ugh! I was all ready drenched by
the end of mile one. It was actually a
lot cooler than it had been the week before during my short run (thanks to rain
from the night before and a breeze).
Since I had forgotten my salt capsules, I ended up using one of my
Gatorade chews that I had with me and alternating drinking Gatorade and
water. Earlier in the week, a sweet
friend had sent me some Stinger Waffles and some Sports Jelly Beans.

I had a Stinger Waffle pre-run and the Jelly
Beans around miles 7 and 8. I’m testing
all of these things out pre-race day so that I can figure out what works best
for my body. It’s a whole lot of trial
and error.

I have two more long runs before race day. In the meantime, I have also signed up for
the Tour des Fleur. This race is a 10k that runs through the
Dallas Arboretum. This will take place
the weekend before the Plano Balloon Festival races. I’ve been really focused on my eating and on
my training schedule. I think that
running the hill intervals on the treadmill have helped. During my next long run I’ll try to run as
close to the full half marathon course as possible. One of the coaches at my school has agreed to
take me out on the track to do speed intervals.
I’m excited about that. My goal
for this half is to get it done in 2:30 (2 hours and 30 minutes). I think that I’ve also brought down my time
for my 5K and 10K. I guess we’ll find
out in 5 to 6 weeks.

The trick for me has been how to fuel my body for the long
run days. For example, I burned somewhere
around 2,000 calories from my run yesterday.
On a normal day, MyFitnessPal has me eating around 1,650 calories a
day. I’ve been good about just hitting
it or being a little under. MyFitnessPal
said that I was allowed to eat 3,700 calories yesterday. I didn’t want to do that. One of my friends suggested that I multiply
that number by .8. That would’ve given
me about 2,900 calories that I could eat (& still stay on my weight loss
track). I still ended up being a little under
just because I really wasn’t hungry. Like
I said, this whole process is trial and error.
I am still eating clean. I’ve
been able to avoid the junk because my body was “yelling” at me. I’m glad, because I’ve been able to easily
say no to cupcakes and eating out. J I will admit that I
have tasted tested some treats that I’ve been making for the girls to stick in
their lunches when school starts. I’ve
documented it all though. J

I have been enjoying this journey. I can’t wait to see what the next few months
hold. I can’t wait to run with my
friends at Disney. Stay tuned for more…